Ning Huan smiled faintly and said, "Shopkeeper, I'm a businesswoman just like you. I think honesty is the most important thing in business. I feel that your clothes are not suitable for a country woman like me. You should leave them for the other ladies."
Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly said, "Madam, what are you saying? How is this dress unworthy of you?"
Seeing Ning Huan about to walk out the door, he said anxiously, "Wife, if these clothes don't suit your taste, then take a look at some others. We have other styles here, all of which are the latest trends, really!"
Even though the shopkeeper shouted at the top of his lungs, he couldn't get Ning Huan to come back.
Although he felt it was a pity, he still stubbornly spat and said, "A country bumpkin like you, acting like a lady from a high-class family. What's so special about choosing clothes? We won't sell you other clothes because we're afraid you can't afford them!"
But the shopkeeper didn't know that the village woman who had just left the shop had a hundred or so taels of silver in her hand. She could afford not only two out-of-season clothes, but all the clothes in his shop.
Ning Huan wasn't angry after leaving the house; she just felt a little hungry and noticed there was a restaurant right next door.
The golden plaque above the entrance of the restaurant reads: Hongyang Restaurant.
The decoration here is very grand and magnificent, with even the eaves of the second floor covered with gorgeous and colorful curtains.
Ning Huan looked at the magnificent restaurant with great interest. Back in the modern world, as a food blogger, she was sought after by various restaurants.
She's eaten all sorts of delicious food, but since coming into this world, she hasn't even tasted the flavors of a restaurant yet.
Besides the matter of food, Ning Huan thought that she still had deer antlers and tendons that she had kept when she caught the wild deer in her consciousness space. Ordinary restaurants would definitely not accept these, but a large restaurant like this might be interested.
Thinking of this, she took out the deer antlers and tendons from her consciousness space and put them in the basket on her back.
As soon as she entered the restaurant, a waiter greeted her: "Oh, ma'am, have you come to eat?"
Ning Huan nodded: "Waiter, bring out all the good wine and food you have here so I can try them!"
As soon as she entered, she smelled a delicious aroma, and her already hungry stomach began to rumble even more loudly.
The waiter bent over to welcome the customer in, but when he straightened up, he discovered that the person was an ugly woman dressed in rags.
Immediately, he felt disgusted and his actions became unfriendly: "There's tea in this teapot, please pour yourself some."
Ning Huan hadn't noticed yet; after all, it was just pouring a glass of water, and it wasn't like she had to let someone else pour it for her: "Okay, I understand. Tell me about your restaurant's signature dishes!"
The waiter said with a hint of disdain, "Our Hongyang Restaurant is one of the top restaurants in town. I'm afraid you can't afford our specialty dishes. You can order some of our restaurant's special offers instead."
Hearing this, Ning Huan realized that the waiter also looked down on her.
I was already speechless thinking about the fabric shop next to Hongyang Restaurant, but when I turned around, the restaurant next door was just as bad.
"Birds of a feather flock together." Does this mean that only business owners of the same kind can do business on the same street?
Ning Huan immediately lost her appetite.
"Waiter, besides the food, there's something else I'd like to ask. Do you buy deer antlers?"
Upon hearing the words "deer antler," the waiter's eyes lit up immediately: "Madam, you mean you've come here to sell deer antler?"
Ning Huan nodded: "That's right. I caught a wild deer a few days ago and took its antlers and tendons. Seeing how grand your restaurant is, I thought you would accept these."
The waiter's expression changed quickly: "Madam, I need to talk to our manager about this. I'll order you a good dish, please sit and wait a moment."
Ning Huan watched the waiter disappear in a flash and felt a little confused.
But she didn't notice that the customers around her were being quietly ushered away by the shop's staff.
After waiting for a while, Ning Huan realized the waiter hadn't come yet, and she didn't want to waste any more time waiting, so she decided to leave.
As soon as I stood up, the doorman closed the door.
Only then did she realize that the entire restaurant was empty except for herself.
Ning Huan sensed something was wrong, narrowed her eyes slightly, and looked at the waiter at the door, asking, "What do you mean by this?"
Before the waiter at the door could speak, a voice came from behind her: "You ate the food at our Hongyang Restaurant, and you think you can just leave without paying?"
She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a richly dressed young man walk out of a side room.
The man was dressed entirely in gold, even the sachet he carried was embroidered with gold silk thread. Judging from his demeanor, he looked exactly like a nouveau riche in modern times.
"I am the owner of Hongyang Restaurant. Madam, you have dined and dashed at our restaurant, so you can't just leave as you please."
Ning Huan chuckled lightly: "Boss, right? Please get this straight, I came to your restaurant and didn't order a single dish. How could you say I'm trying to dine and dash?"
Guo Hongyang laughed loudly, "You probably don't understand. In my restaurant, what I say goes! You ate and dashed, so you have to leave the money behind. I heard you have deer antlers on you, so use them to pay for the food."
This is Hongyang Restaurant's consistent practice. All the farmers, merchants, and peddlers who wanted to do business here have suffered losses and have never dared to come alone to do business again.
As for why no one dared to report it to the authorities, it was because the owner of Hongyang Restaurant was Guo Hongyang, the second son of the Guo family, a prominent family in the town.
Not to mention the consequences of offending the Guo family, even the officials in the town and county government have to give them face. They tend to turn a blind eye to such matters and don't interfere much.
Guo Hongyang also had connections within the county government, so these vendors had no choice but to suffer in silence.
Ning Huan was here for the first time and naturally didn't know any of this. But she also knew that she had fallen into someone else's trap.
"I thought I was so capable that I could make the shopkeeper make such a big fuss, but it turns out he just wanted the deer antlers on me."
Guo Hongyang looked at Ning Huan with a sinister gaze, then gave a wink to the waiter at the door, who instantly surrounded Ning Huan.
"Since you know what's going on, you'd better hand over the stuff obediently. Otherwise, don't blame my men for teaching you a lesson."
The waiter chimed in, "That's right, our young master is in a good mood today. As long as you properly hand over the deer antlers, we'll let you leave here without any trouble."
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